Continuing Education: Spaces for Design

Five years ago, Covid-19 shut down much of the world. Countries sealed their borders, schools closed, and businesses shuttered. For architects, projects slowed or were canceled due to travel restrictions, funding problems, and supply-chain issues. But many found that they could effectively work remotely. Now, for at least part of the week, they are back in the office—but it isn’t the same office. The pandemic prompted a shift in attitudes and priorities, as well as a rethink of the physical workplace. RECORD looks at five recently completed projects conceived during or in the wake of the shutdown—four architecture studios and one design consultant’s office—to explore how these environments support each firm’s distinct creative process and unique culture.

In the fall of 2021, the leadership of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) held open-air meetings in Bryant Park, directly across the street from the Midtown building it had called home since 2007, to begin plotting the post-Covid return of the firm’s 336-person New York–based staff to in-office work. Their scheme included giving up the lease on half of floor 18 in the Art Deco skyscraper; moving that staff to floor 7, one level above where the rest of the firm was located, and, at some point, in a second phase, connecting the two floors. During those open-air meetings, KPF determined that the new workspace should facilitate collaboration, but also allow many ways of working. “Some people need more focus,” says principal Marianne Kwok, who led the renovation with principal Brian Girard. At the same time, she adds, “we wanted to showcase our work a bit more purposefully.”